The dust reached us before the riders did.

    I stood at the balcony of the manor’s upper hall, Francesco beside me, the air taut with waiting.

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    My heart beating fast for what wasing, hoping that nothing could harm our people, that Alpha Doriane to his sense that he can’t do stupid against my mate, the King Alpha without knowing the consequences.

    —

    From the east ridge, a cloud rose thick, deliberate, carrying with it the metallic scent of horses ridden hard and armor polished to impress.

    Looks like Alpha Dorian wanted us to see him long before he arrived.

    “Thirty riders,” Marlow reported, standing at the edge of the courtyard, eyes like a hawk’s. “Two wagons. Banners high.”

    Francesco’s jaw tightened, the ck eyes darkened with burn in his eyes steady. “He parades grief like a crown.” He grit in anger

    Through our bond, I felt the coil of his anger, controlled, deliberate. Not the wild heat of battle but the cold fire of strategy. He would not let Alpha Dorian’s theater dictate the script.

    By the time the riders entered the lower field, every soul in Valmont had gathered in the square or watched from the windows. Old ones with folded hands, children whispering questions they didn’t dare ask too loudly, warriors at the ready. The air was full of heartbeats.

    The Valois crest – a silver wolf’s head snarling on a ck field – cut the horizon, carried by two mounted guards. Behind them, Dorian himself rode tall, his armor dark steel chased with red. His face was carved stone, but his eyes burned with a fury that spoke of nights without sleep.

    He dismounted in one smooth motion, boots striking the ground like a challenge.

    His men spread behind him, a wall of steel and leather.

    Like it could scare my mate away…

    “King Francesco,” he said, voice carrying, sharp as a de across stone.

    “Alpha Dorian Francesco’s reply was calm, deep, unbent.

    He stood at the top of the steps, no armor, no sword steel.

    He was the steel.

    –

    only himself, his presence, his power. He didn’t need

    Power radiating in his body without knowing who he is, people will notice that he is different, powerful, with Lycan power.

    I moved to his side, and a murmur rippled through the watching wolves after I do that.

    I felt their eyes on me, their Luna, standing with their King Lycan against the storm.

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    I also notice Alpha Dorian’s gaze flicked to me for half a heartbeat, hard, calcting, then snapped back to my mate, Francesco. “Where bis /bshe?” He didn’t beat the bush.

    Silence dropped like a stone.

    Francesco tilted his head slightly. “Your daughter?”

    Dorian’s teeth bared, the veneer of civility cracking. “Do not y games with me. Yes, Sofia… Where is my daughter?”

    “She is not here,” Francesco said simply.

    The words struck like lightning.

    Gasps rippled through the crowd.

    Alpha Dorian froze, his fury sharpening into disbelief.

    “What?” His voice trembled with a rawness I hadn’t expected. “You-” His hands curled into fists. “You dare tell me she is gone? After your letter? After you unted her bond with that creature as if it were the Goddessb‘ /bown decreeb?/bb” /b

    He dare raise his voice?!

    Francesco’s power rose then, subtle but undeniable, a tide pressing down on the square until even the bravest wolves straightened their spines. “I told you the truth, Dorian. She stood here under my roof, free. She chose her mate. And she chose her path. That path no longer lies in Valmont.”

    “You lie!!” The usation came like venom. “You’ve hidden her. You’ve tucked her away like some prize-”

    “No.” Francesco’s voice cracked like thunder when he interjected. “I do not hide women in cages and call it love. That was your mistake, not mine.”

    Alpha Dorian flinched, just barely, but I saw it. The crowd saw it. The truth in Francesco’s wordsnded, heavy, undeniable.

    “So, she left?” Alpga Dorian demanded, his voice rising. “She left me? She chose exile with that leech over her family, her pack, her blood?!!!”

    What does he say?! I can’t believe with what I hearding from his mouth.

    “She chose freedom,” I said, my voice carrying before I thought about it. His head snapped toward me, eyes shing with raw fury, but I did not flinch. “She chose love. Something you denied her.b” /b

    The crowd stirred.

    Mothers drew their daughters closer.

    Young wolves exchanged looks, wide–eyed, whispering.

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    :

    Even the warriors in Dorian’s ranks shifted uneasily.

    They had daughters.

    They had sisters.

    They had mates.

    :

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    Alpha Dorian’s face twisted, grief and rage warring in every line. “She was mine to guide. Mine to protectb!/b”

    I quickly shook my head in disagreement.

    “She was never yours to own,” Francesco growled before I could say anything. His power surged, shadows curling at his feet. “The Moon Goddess gives us mates, Alpha Dorian, not possessions. You lost her the moment you denied her bond.”

    The square thrummed with silence so deep it hurt.

    Dorian’s breath came hard, ragged.

    His eyes darted, searching, almost frantic, as if Sofia might still appear from the crowd, running to him, proving him right.

    But she didn’t.

    And she wouldn’t.

    Finally, his gaze locked back on Francesco, burning with hatred. “You will regret this. All of you.”

    “Perhaps,” Francesco said, calm, unyielding. “But not as much as you will regret pushing your daughter away with your own hands.”

    The words cut deeper than any de.

    Alpha Dorian recoiled as though struck.

    His men shifted, waiting formand, but none came. Not yet.

    The square held its breath, waiting to see if grief would make him break

    I just hope for his sake, he won’t do stupid thing.

    or if rage would.

    Because I know how powerful my mate and Alpha Dorian along with his man isn’t near him, even if he erase them himself without the help of my pack.